Two survivors were Monday rescued from the rubble of an apartment complex in Taiwan felled by an natural disaster, after being trapped for more than 50 hours.
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The quake struck two days before the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar.
However, Tainan’s emergency center, the hardest-hit city, announced that there were still more than 100 people missing and were suspected have been buried and trapped deep under the wreckage.
Emergency workers worked around the clock to comb the ruins of the 17-storey building in southern Tainan city following a 6.4 magnitude natural disaster in the early hours of Saturday. As reported by ABC 7, the rescuers were able to rescue more than 170 people from the collapsed 17-story building.
Officials say a woman was found under the body of her husband Monday morning. Rescuers had detected life within the area where the 16th-floor apartment of her son and his family was thought to be, and were said to have heard the sound of a child. The company that constructed the building has since gone out of business, but Taiwan’s interior minister, Chen Wei-zen, said that the government would look into whether or not the construction was up to standards – and if not, whom should be held responsible.
Lai said rescuers had been trying to dig him out of the rubble for more than 20 hours but failed as his left leg was trapped. The island’s last big tremor was a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 that killed more than 2,300 people.
Tainan mayor William Lai said he talked to Lee just after he was rescued. Efforts continued through Monday, with an 8-year-old girl and a woman in her mid-20s both pulled from the rubble.
“I was trapped in a room in a building toppled by the quake”, said the mother, who gave only her surname.
It seems that rescuers have a good idea on where these people are located and according to the city mayor, their focus now is to assess the condition of these people and when they can safely use their heavy equipment.
At least 24 people were killed in the building collapse, and efforts continue to find another 120 people who are missing, according to the latest government figures.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who will take the reins in May, said the new government would prioritize building safety.
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The quake struck on the weekend before Chinese New Year when many relatives would have joined families in the complex to enjoy the holidays.
